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Hayes Lemmerz Automotive Brakes Wins Rear Brake Drum Supplier Contract For the New 1999 Mercury Cougar

2 April 1998

Hayes Lemmerz Automotive Brakes Wins Rear Brake Drum Supplier Contract For the New 1999 Mercury Cougar

    ROMULUS, Mich., April 2 -- Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
, the world's leading supplier of wheels and brake components,
announced today that it has received a contract to produce rear full cast
brake drums for the new 1999 Mercury Cougar.
    The contract came from AutoAlliance International, a Ford/Mazda joint
venture based in Flat Rock, Michigan.  The rotors for the new Mercury Cougar
vehicle platform will be produced at Hayes' Homer, Michigan manufacturing
facility.  The Homer plant is located 60 miles outside of Detroit and employs
250.
    "We are proud to be associated with the new Cougar and Ford," said Ron
Cucuz, Chairman and CEO of Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.  "This contract
demonstrates our growth potential and validates the strategy of our brake
business."
    Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. , with annual sales of over
$1.5 billion, is a world leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of
steel and aluminum wheels and brake drums and rotors for the automotive and
commercial highway markets in North America, Europe and Asia.  Hayes has more
than 7,000 employees and 20 manufacturing facilities in 11 countries
worldwide.

SOURCE  Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.